Shark Bytes

This dreck made Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, and Time Tunnel look like magnificent achievements in television history.

The only thing even mildly entertaining about the pilot is the fact that the mad scientist who captures the captain and the redheaded chick looks exactly like George Lucas. And it's only amusing in retrospect, since nobody knew who George Lucas was in 1968.

Deanna Lund WAS stacked, but Heather Young was no slouch in the rack department, either. I guess old Irwin was a boob man...

This fourth and final installment of the Irwin Allen 1960s sci-fi anthology was, and is..at times..the least remembered. It was a cross between "Gulliver's Travels" and "Lost In Space" and I believed that the second season was a definite improvement over the first. The theme song had a stronger impact and the majority of the stories were a bit more fleshed out than the first year's; it seemed to me the show had far more substance in the sophomore year.

It was a pity that character development was limited in order to serve up "the prop of the week"..be it a giant pencil, gerbil cage, gun, etc.
Gary Conway (formerly of "Burke's Law") made a believable team leader and Deanna Lund was definitely eye candy.
Unfortunately, some of the backing characters were Allen re-treads (Barry was a Will Robinson clone to some extent and Fitzhugh was the program's Dr. Smith-esque irritant).

The phenomenal cost of the show ($250,000 an episode...a huge mound of cole slaw in 1968 terms) is most likely what led to the show's cancellation after 2 years...the modest ratings just didn't justify the high budget.

I think the show was cancelled because Heather Young probably put someone's eye out with that bra (check out her season one opening shot.)

I saw a few of the episodes recently on I-tunes. Mostly I watched them for pure nostalgia, although there are a few episodes that are good, solid sci-fi (The Bounty Hunter, The Golden Cage), but mostly I don't think Irwin Allen was interested in creating great sci-fi. He was like the P.T. Barnum of TV. He was simply concerned in giving people thrills and not much else. I loved this show as a kid but more solid writing would have allowed me to enjoy much more as an adult too. By the way, I thought Fizhugh was much more interesting a villian than Dr. Smith. Smith was always an a-hole, Fitzhugh could be noble on occasion especially in helping Barry (the little kid).

I personally liked the second season the best and I can't believe that this show was canceled. I do believe it failed due to cost and not because of the stars. It sure wasn't because of betty's disappearance because she was in most of the episodes (especially at the end) of season two. Any how the show was great. Thank you.

I LOVED this show growing up!

For you Deanna Lund fans, she has a book on eBay. It is signed by her and early buyers get a free autographed picture. It updates LOTG by ten years, ties up some loose ends and you'll love Valerie. The book is written as a diary by her and who better to do that than Deanna Lund.

The thing I remember about this show was how no one got along. Mark didn't like Steve, Mark didn't like Fitzhough, Valerie kept getting in trouble, Fitzhough liked no one.

A few years back, Arngrim was in a Starlog magazine interview.

Among the many things he said were that he was NOT Irwin Allen's choice for the role, he was literally forced upon Allen by ABC executives, he caused Kazner to go ballistic when he acted like he was trying to hog the screen, and he and Gary Conway always had hassles with Irwin Allen.

Things were not always happy in giant-land!!!

Boy was Deanna Lund stacked!! I loved her!

Mr. Fitzhugh was the 'Dr. Smith' of LOTG and man did I hate that guy. Seemed like he was always causing some kind of trouble and was a pretty bad influence on the kid. I don't know why they didn't just leave his butt behind and let the giants have at him. They'd have been better off for sure.

Like most Irwin Allen productions this one was very entertaining. His shows were often criticized for being scientifically flawed but the rules of science were "bent" successfully to provide for a more action packed hour.
At least the 60's shows had more originality. You know the film/tv industry is running out of creative ideas when so much of their efforts are wasted on lousy remakes of former tv shows and movies,and the mindless reality shows that flood the airwaves.

Some of the stories were weak, but all in all fun to watch. And...of course being 12 at the time and having a big crush on Heather Young helped

I have fond memories of this show, as I have fond memories of all Irwin Allen shows.

Personally, I loved LAND OF THE GIANTS and watched it faithfully during its brif run on Sunday nights on ABC. Of course the premise was ridiculous, but the cast played it with relatively straight faces so I believed. As another poster mentioned, I had a major crush on Gary Conway as Captain Steve. I also liked Deanna Lund, Don Matheson, Stefan Arngrim, and Kurt Kazner as Alexander Fitzhugh, who was basically a 70's version of LOST IN SPACE's Dr. Smith. The show held my interest and never jumped the shark.

Almost all of Irwin Allen's shows jump the shark from the premiere of the first episode.While these series entertained me as a kid growing up in the 60's,the reality is they age like paint.Allen never cared about coherent plots or intriguing characterizations,sadly all his shows reflect this.In interviews with the various writers who wrote for his series they would tell how he only wanted "running & jumping shows." Costumes,sets,make-up,& fx were his priorities.If a writer attempted to develop a character,be it a regular cast member or a guest star,Allen would call it "quibbling," & put a stop to it. If the writer cared about a story premise & wanted to intelligently plot it out,Allen's reply was "Don't get logical with me." End of story. His team designed some amazing fx & sets & the money is up there on the screen...but that's all we are left with.I liken him to a circus ringmaster surrounded by clowns,animals,& trapeze artists.Its all colorful & entertaining on one level,but ultimately it lacks any real substance.What a pity he did not take notice what other sf series creators such as Rod Serling(The Twilight Zone),Leslie Stevens & Joseph Stefano(The Outer Limits),& Gene Roddenberry(Star Trek) were doing with their tv shows.They knew that sf needed to grow out of its childish,Saturday morning serial for kids mentality,& into what we knew it could be:intelligent plots with rich,complex characterizations. That's why those shows stand the test of time,while Allen's series are like a toy we had as a child but outgrew long ago.We may have a fond memory of that toy, but to play with it now would be a bore & a waste of our time.